The philosopher John Rawls suggested that the only ethical society is one which we design before we know what position we will hold in it. If you don’t know whether you’ll be born the child of janitor or a billionaire, black or white, you may view social justice differently than when you know that your [...]

Ever since McCain announced Sarah Palin as his pick for Vice President, the Obama bloggers have been screeching, tearing their hair, and running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Harry Reid called Palin “shrill.” If thinks her speech was shrill, what would he make of the goings on at The Daily Cheeto, TPM, and MyDD?

Suddenly, the Obamacans are waking up to the stark reality that they have nominated an unelectable candidate. He might have had a chance, but he was either too stupid or too arrogant to nominate Hillary Clinton as his Vice President. With her on the ticket, he probably would have won the election handily; but instead he chose gaffe-o-matic blabbermouth Joe Biden. Biden, who couldn’t even win the primary in his tiny home state of Delaware.

The TPM email bag this morning is chock of emails saying, in so many words, is it time to panic? I’m actually not taking much summary license here. Most of the emails I’m talking about actually ends with some form of that sentence.

Marshall dismisses the latest USA Today/Gallup Poll as an “outlier” (keep telling yourself that, Josh), but he’s still nervous about the Obama campaign’s apparent inability to fight back effectively:

I continue to see a campaign in which the McCain camp has a consistent and aggressive message. They’re constantly on the attack and largely defining the debate. The Obama campaign is largely reactive, parrying the attacks — sometimes rapid response, sometimes slower response, but defined largely by response….what I see is a campaign that is for some reason either unwilling or unable to take the initiative in the national messaging war. It’s all reactive. And, yeah, that worries me.

At the Daily Cheeto, a new purge is taking place. Anyone who doubts the messiah must be ostracized or pushed off the site. These people are no better than pumas, according Al Giordano (“The Field”) gives the many weak kneed Obama-doubters a piece of his mind (I won’t provide a link, but the diary is still on the rec list).

To the Chicken Littles – those attention-seeking armchairmen, wanna-be campaign managers, and increasingly boring sub-group of Johnny-and-Janey-One-Notes that have begun to join the PUMAs in this year’s absurdity index – I’m hereby officially filing for divorce…

No more holding your hands and wiping your tears. From here to November 4, any more response I have to you will be, if at all, to counter and mock you for your sabotage of the best shot to win the White House so far in this century.

You’ve become an embarrassment to our side, the loose lips that sink ships, the willful spreaders of panic and despair, mere props and morale boosters for the real enemies that have been winding you up…

Later on, he really lets them have it–warning that they will be on the outside looking in if they don’t STFU about their doubts and fears.

…at this point, if you’re among those that can’t get your shit together, have no sense of message discipline, or just want your misery to have company, consider yourself quarantined.

You won’t get a word in edgewise on my Internet home, and as a member of this community if I bother with you at all I’ll be mocking and countering your self-indulgent bullshit here as often as I want along with many, many others who, in recent days, seem, like me, ready to part company with, marginalize and isolate the weak links in this chain.

Feel lonely in your panic now? Keep it up. You don’t know yet how much more lonely you could make yourselves still… as lonely as a PUMA.

Oooooh! Al’s a real tough guy!

Al also provides some interesting information for anyone who would like to be clued in to the latest Obama talking points and messages to the media:

The Obama campaign sends out an average of 10 to 20 email attacks and counterattacks a day to every reporter in the country (if you’re not on the Obama campaign “daily reporters” email list, write to Hari Sevugan hsevugan@barackobama.com or Bill Burton bburton@barackobama.com or Tommy Veitor tveitor@barackobama.com or Nick Shapiro nshapiro@barackobama.com and sign yourself up).

Oh, and it looks like Mommy Hillary isn’t going to come to the rescue either. At The New Republic, Howard Wolfson writes that Hillary is not going to attack Sarah Palin, as the Obamabots are screaming for her to do:

It’s not in Hillary Clinton’s interest, and its certainly not in the interest of Barack Obama and the Democratic party.

You may not remember, but Hillary Clinton is at her best staying positive and contrasting with her opponents on issues. She has already been stumping for Senator Obama leading up to the convention and will be stumping for him as much as Senator Obama wants her to between now and the election.

Secondly, and most importantly, Democrats are running against John McCain, not Sarah Palin. Running against Gov. Palin instead of Senator McCain would be a mistake — ultimately voters will make their assessments based on the strength and weaknesses of the top of the tickets. If anything, Democrats should be talking about McCain-Bush, not McCain-Palin. Every day we are focused on Palin is a day we are not amplifying the Obama campaign’s message that Senator McCain simply represents four more years of President Bush.

Pay attention Barack. You are running for *President* against John McCain, not VP against Sarah Palin. I know you just love beating up on women, but your obsession with Palin is starting to make you look pretty ridiculous. Hillary isn’t going to rescue you. You’re going to have to win this one all by yourself. This is what you wanted, remember? You eliminated all the competition from fellow Democrats. But you aren’t going to be able to drive McCain and Palin out of the race. This time you’re actually going to have to win a contested election, and you’ll have to do it without the pumas. Good luck with that.

the ny times has an article out now too that says the money’s not rolling in like they said it would:

Pushing a fund-raiser later this month, a finance staff member sent a sharply worded note last week to Illinois members of its national finance committee, calling their recent efforts “extremely anemic.”

At a convention-week meeting in Denver of the campaign’s top fund-raisers, buttons with the image of a money tree were distributed to those who had already contributed the maximum $2,300 to the general election, a subtle reminder to those who had failed to ante up.

The signs of concern have become evident in recent weeks as early fund-raising totals have suggested that Mr. Obama’s decision to bypass public financing may not necessarily afford him the commanding financing advantage over Senator John McCain that many had originally predicted.

….If Obama had done the smart thing; he would have picked Sen. Hillary Clinton for vice president. If he had, he would have united his party for sure and energized his base.
He just couldn’t do it and maybe thought he didn’t need to do it. He was wrong. …..

By Ed Rollins
CNN Contributor

Yes indeed more bad judgment from Obama on who he surrounds himself with

I hadn’t seen that yet. I’m not surprised though. It’s got to be hard to work up enthusiasm for giving big bucks to a candidate who looks like a deer in the headlights. That’s what they used to say about Dan Quayle, isn’t it?

Now, I know that pointing out anything wrong with the Obama campaign means that I am a panicking chicken little who needs to be quarantined from the level headed political professionals, but it is hard to see these numbers and not think that there is something very wrong in the presidential campaign. Democratic presidential nominees have outperformed Democratic congressional candidates for the past four electoral cycles. Usually, they are less than 1% ahead, but this time around we are nowhere near that result

I really get fed up with the trashing of Biden, probably the most qualified person in the country after Al Gore to be president. if the original poster really believes Hillary Clinton could save that ticket, I’ve got a bridge I’d like to sell him or her.

The problem is Obama. Obama NEVER had a chance, understand? That is why the media, the GOP, and corporate America wanted him. It was manipulation of the voting public on a grand scale.

In all the diaries at the Cheeto, the recommendations are to attack McCain and Palin. No one ever suggests that Obama should reach out to voters positively and tell them why he wants their votes or what he will do for them.

I would be willing to vote for Biden as a presidential candidate, but he couldn’t get any votes in the primaries. He couldn’t even win his home state. So I don’t see him adding much to the ticket. Hillary would bring several states with her. She could probably carry Arkansas, West Va., maybe KY and TN. She would definitely bring FL, PA, and maybe OH.

Who was it who indicated it was Michelle’s dislike of the Clintons that stopped
Obama from asking HIllary? I guess she didn’t want to share any of the attention. She told her New Yorker profile that she’d like to “scratch his [Bill Clinton’s] eyes out….Just kidding!”

Now if the selected Democratic nominee doesn’t win big time in a year when
any Dem should win handily, heads will roll, as they used to say kingdoms by the sea.

What should really be of concern is that the inconvenient facts of Obama’s past
haven’t been featured to the larger American public. I swear that Obama looks
frightened. He is way out of his league.

Giordano.. AFAIK is an old hand, field organizer, worked very hard for Kerry in 04 (and caught a lot of flak from the hugely pro-Dean blogosphere at the time) – his predictions for much of what would happen in the 04 primaries were quite accurate. So.. he’s a professional and seems to take the view that the raison d’etre of the Cheeto site is to elect Obama, point. And that’s why he orders them around like he does. He doesn’t treat it as the place for a free exchange of ideas and probably considers a lot of the chatter there a waste of time, which again.. well, that’s quite accurate isn’t it?

Juan Cole of the Salon says: Sept. 9, 2008 “John McCain announced that he was running for president to confront the “transcendent challenge” of the 21st century, “radical Islamic extremism,” contrasting it with “stability, tolerance and democracy.” But the values of his handpicked running mate, Sarah Palin, more resemble those of Muslim fundamentalists than they do those of the Founding Fathers. On censorship, the teaching of creationism in schools, reproductive rights, attributing government policy to God’s will and climate change, Palin agrees with Hamas and Saudi Arabia rather than supporting tolerance and democratic precepts. What is the difference between Palin and a Muslim fundamentalist? Lipstick. ”

In other words I don’t agree with Giordano but to hazard a guess about his perspective – he wants to win the election and he has a job to do. He’s not just a blog bloviator. AFAIK he also was key in launching the Narco News site/Narcosphere, about the drug war in Latin America.

If Biden had been electable then he would have done better in the primaries. He didn’t. Only one person did really well in the primaries, and the DNC decided that we couldn’t have her.

Can we have Hillary back, now?

Hillary spoke just up the road tonight, and the local news coverage showed that she kept her word and didn’t get into Palin at all, even with heckling from male members of the audience. When the media asked about Palin’s ability to be VP, she side-stepped it and replied that it was a good thing, and about time that the Reps. had put a woman on the ticket.

I have to think that, underneath it all, she is enjoying this more than a little.

Ironic that the same thing can be said of women. And once again women are asked to be good girls, give up time, money and votes for someone else, and wait their eventual turn.

I also add that convincing large numbers of people that only r%cists stand between Obama and the White House, and insulting other segments of the population with this assertion, is going to have very ugly social consequences. They are playing with fire.

I find this equally reprehensible:

“Let us swing the door ajar and invite the elephant into the room. One big reason Barack Obama is locked in a tight race, rather than easily outdistancing his opponent, is because he is black.

That factor [r@ce] is rarely discussed in polite political conversation. People tend to dance around it, talking instead about Obama’s perceived inexperience, or his youth, or his perceived airs, or his liberal voting record. And r%cist sentiment rarely shows up in the polls, because a lot of people don’t want to share their baser instincts with the pollsters; they’ll save that instead for the privacy of the voting booth.”

David Plouffe, the Obama campaign manager, said the majority of the Obama campaign’s donors during the primary had yet to write checks for the general election. When they do, he said, it will be the equivalent of the large injection of cash the McCain campaign is receiving from the government — about $70 million or $80 million.

hey susan, biden is a hothead with a hard on for the credit card companies. So is obama. biden is no more qualified than any other marginally functional money grubber to be president. his moral center is questionable to put it mildly.

I read your post. If Obama’s fundraising dries up, he’s going to be in big trouble, since he told donors not to give to organizations like Move on, and the DNC isn’t raising much. Murphy’s prediction that he will be dead by the end of September may prove to be very precient.

Frickin-A, bostonboomer! That was righteous. It seems a bunch of us are feeling a little quickening today. I posted a late night rant too. I also joined a new feminist group called The New Agenda (http://thenewagenda.net/). As hard as this year has been, I’ve some hope, at last. And movement.

OK, I get what the diarist is saying with that post. I hear some of what she’s saying but I find it infuriating that some folks continue to assume that the real reason anyone could have for not voting Obama is rac!sm. If that is your basic underlying premise convincing undecideds is going to be very, very tough.

I really get fed up with the trashing of Biden, probably the most qualified person in the country after Al Gore to be president. if the original poster really believes Hillary Clinton could save that ticket, I’ve got a bridge I’d like to sell him or her.

The problem is Obama. Obama NEVER had a chance, understand? That is why the media, the GOP, and corporate America wanted him. It was manipulation of the voting public on a grand scale.
******
Susannunes – you’ve got a good point about Obama, but as far as Biden vs. Hillary, I don’t think so. Is that bridge you have to sell, the one called Bridge to Nowhere – the one that Biden voted for?

The comments on Crooks and Liars over Obama’s interview with Keith – a pleasure to behold. “He needs to spit it out”. ‘He’s bringing a wet noodle to a knife fight”. “Why can’t he just say the word liar.”

And they seem to have just realized the guy can’t answer a question without stammering and uhhing and you knowing. Olbermann should have him on every night .

dg: they STILL look at the voter as having a problem, not obama. Big mistake! He needs to be asking for the votes and saying what he will do in office besides hope he can figure it out when he gets there.

Both Digby and Chris Bowers are disheartened — and actually surprised — that McCain (depending on which polls you look at) is tied with or ahead of Obama after the conventions. Digby and Bowers are also upset that Obama isn’t playing hardball with McCain (a problem he didn’t have with Clinton, by the way).

I feel the need to point out that if the Dem ticket had been Clinton-Obama, McCain-Palin would not be doing so well (or perhaps I should say that the Democratic presidential campaign wouldn’t be doing so poorly) and we would have had twelve — if not sixteen — years of Democratic White House administrations. Twelve to sixteen years would have been enough to undo the damage done by the Bush Junta (even with the Democrats’ kowtowing here and there to the GOP) and set in motion a 21st century “New Deal” whose inertia would have been too great a for Republican president launched into the Oval Office due to restless voters to overcome.

Hell, even Clinton-”Insert Name” would be fairing better.

When those of us who were Clinton supporters pointed out during the primaries that Obama was more conservative than Clinton — a powerhouse at the DLC — we were scoffed at.

When we noted that Obama’s razor-thin resume would be a problem for many voters, we were treated with scorn.

When we railed against the sexism and misogyny aimed at Clinton by the Establishment Media, too many members of the so-called progressive blogosphere, and the Democratic Party leadership, we were told that she asked for it and that she deserved it.

When we celebrated the fact that Clinton kept winning key Electoral College states despite being outspent by Obama and when she beat him in the popular vote, we were vilified.

Forgive me for being less than sympathetic to the “Why hast thou forsaken me, Obama?” lamentations; we told you people time and time and TIME again that he was less than an ideal candidate, and got fuck-all for our troubles.

You had your chance to pick a better candidate, and you blew it. You should have listened to us during the primaries.

Watching all the wailing from the Progressive Blogosphere 0.5(thnaks Charles), I really want to remind them what we kept saying during the primaries. If only someone had listened…

Actually, what I am hearing is that most voters are not veiwing the top of the ticket as having anything to do with the rest of the ticket. People understand the difference between their local concerns with those of the national… : ) meow…..

How many of the new Obama voters are going to vote down-ticket? Many of them came on board because of a personality; it had nothing to do with supporting the party. Some of them are going to mark top of ticket and go home. And if they live in a state where you can vote all dem by punching one item, I think a lot of them will want to actually see Obama’s name and vote for him personally.

I personally can’t hunt, but traditional hunting I’ve come around to over the years as I learned more. And I’m at the point where I understand. Now trophy, canned hunting . . . don’t get me started!

What’s really funny, is part of Palin’s appeal is her abilities. Hunting fishing, just being able to be equal in a man’s world and be self sufficient. She can hang with the NG and shoot with them also. When Obama disses her “moose shooting”, he’s dissin’ much more than that. He’s dissin’ so many different qualities people identify with. And of course, didn’t McCain or someone refer to her as “pistol packin'” in a positive way along with her moose dressin’ in the field skills? It’s kinda funny how Republican men are just tickled pink by the ‘little lady’, lol!~

In short, Obama has run as something he clearly is not, at least not so far. He wants people to believe that he can change the game, but in the three short years he has served in national office, he has done nothing to suggest that. John McCain actually has a track record of working across party divisions and trying to reach solutions on controversial issues; Barack Obama prefers to reserve his “political capital”. All Obama has done is talk about change, and that talk has begun to wear thin, especially as people take a closer look at him and his political associations.
In a way, Obama is the Jon Stewart candidate. He sits on the edge of politics, making “wry and sardonic” comments about what other people do without doing anything himself. No wonder younger voters love him; he gets to be ironic while taking no responsibility for anything. And when people press him for action, he’d prefer to eat his waffle in peace until he can find a way to act as a commentator rather than as a real agent for change.
And what excuse has he given for that? Obama doesn’t want to become part of the Beltway culture. That sounds good, but did he run for the Senate so he could not participate in the legislative process? He could have stayed in Illinois to do that.
Unfortunately for Obama and the Democrats who have carried him so close to the finish line, that “fierce urgency of now” is nothing more than a soundbite for a legislator who doesn’t legislate, an agent of change who hasn’t changed anything, and the beacon of hope who hasn’t felt an urgency to take any action in the “now” for the past three years. He’s been eating his waffle and hanging out with people who don’t like America or Americans much. That qualifies him to work the next Daily Show spin-off, not run the country

Nothing has changed from the “agent of no spare change” since then. Morrissey could have written it yesterday ..especially after the ” mother ,governor and moose shooter ” comment .
Every time I think bo cannot possibly get worse he does ….. sometimes I think bo is subconsiously trying to self destruct so he doesnt have to do the work that a presidency would require , but then he could blame “America” for not electing and remain the whining victim . So be it .. i would rather have him the whining victim than the ineffective tyrant president / emporer
Caligula comes to mind……..

Correct, as you have to fly between Anchorage and Juneau, and she goes by coach, which I think is very cool. She could have chosen to fly first class all the time or could have kept that fancy jet. She said no to both. Good for her!

I’m really happy about the way things are going. The polls are up for McCain-Palin, the nutroots are aflame, and WA and OR are in play. Maybe even CA.

The purge going on in the leftist blogosphere is a good thing because the idiots will be left talking to themselves and preaching to the choir. Let ‘em isolate themselves because it’ll be self-defeating.

The DNC and the Dem leadership need to be crushed. That’d be good for the party in the long run and for Hillary.

Democrats are in a hole now because McCain and Palin actually have records to defend. You can show what they did wrong or where they failed and the can parry by pointing to their successes or even give an explanation to what you view as a failure. In short these are people who have actually DONE something.

Obama and his supporters are trying to create some accomplishment and extoll some leadership skills and virtues based literally on NOTHING.

nycstray: I don’t hunt/fish either, but all my brothers in law (and some of my sister in law) do hunt and or fish. My mother in law (just turned 86) keeps a gun next to her broom by the kitchen sink, ‘just in case’ They love the Palin woman. oy.

One has to wonder what Obama is spending on himself and family. Is he paying for it? Or is his “grassroots campaign”?

I don’t see her claims as all that outrageous. It’s pretty much standard in business and as one who freelances a lot, I write the stuff off lol!~ I wonder what others (hello congress!) spend in the way of per diem?

MAblue..well said! Palin fought and got rid of corrupt pols – Obama ENDORSED them. Obama voted 133 times”present” so as not to have a controversial voting record. McCains donated MILLIONS to medical relief around the world and years of time and energy. Obamas donated $22,500 to Rev. Wrights Church. Wow!!! Obama is a Machievillian opportunist. I can’t believe people are supporting him. HE HAS DONE NOTHING but ingritiate himself into corrupt Chicago Politics and drank from the slimy trough. This empty suit needs to step down.

I just flipped on CNN, and they are trying to figure out this Palin thing. They may want to add some more women to the discussion. And a few regular folks. lol!~ Toobin is clueless. Oh man, talk about an echo chamber in regards to women.

Now they are going to go into her church background because they did it with Obama and McCain (really? McCain?!). Hmmm, what about Biden?

Completely agree with you, Charles. The big problem for Dems is that Obama actually BELIEVES he is right – in the typical narcissistic style – and is therefore incapable of changing positions. Hillary got grief for some of her changed positions but I, myself, think it is the mark of a great leader – one who can listen and ADAPT.

I’m not that familiar with Al Giordano other than remembering that James Wolcott was always shilling for Giordano’s blog during the primaries, attesting to the all-knowing wisdom of Al Giordano. I went over there once at Wolcott’s urging and quickly backed out of the place. He just seemed to me to be a sexist who saw what he wanted to see.

Perhaps Obama doesn’t *hate* women, per se, but he has contempt for us. That is obvious. To me that’s misogyny. It’s unconscious, but he lashes out at women all the time. He really has serious mother issues, IMHO.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: If you’re voting for JM/SP, send a fax or email, or snail mail if you must, that you are PUMA, you expect results, and you won’t accept mysogeny or sexism. You supported Hillary, and crossed party lines, but that won’t happen in 2012. You do not support extreme right tactics, that you support moderate positions, or even liberal positions.

It’s nice to be on the winning side. No, we didn’t win the primary, but we had some good battles, didn’t we? No, we won’t win the election this year, but we’ve survived to fight another day. It feels good to be a winner. It feels good to be a PUMA.

If Rev. Wright had spent a little time on “Pride comes before the fall,” and if BZero’s ears were working that Sunday since they didn’t seem to work at all when it came to Rev. Wright’s sermons, he might have had a chance.

Honestly, I believe he thought he could do it on his own. His pride told him he didn’t need Hillary.

This doesn’t follow in Proverbs, but it would fit, “How’d that work for ya BZero?”

It’s a very wonderful and sick thing to be 2 months out from the GE, watching the Republicans creep up in the polls, watching my (now former) fellow Democrats go into freakout panic mode, and to not be depressed about it.

Separate thought: I have a slightly different take on this quote:

of the best shot to win the White House so far in this century.

Because, know what? Even if he meant to say ‘the last 100 years’ instead of ‘this century’ (doofus), that’s not Barack Obama. The best shot to actually win the White House in the last 100 years would be the guy who actually won the White House.

White women have moved from 50-42 percent in Obama’s favor before the conventions to 53-41 percent for McCain now, a 20-point shift in the margin that’s one of the single biggest post-convention changes in voter preferences. The other, also to McCain’s advantage, is in the battleground Midwest, where he’s moved from a 19-point deficit to a 7-point edge.

Whenever I have to step away from my intertoobs portal, all the fun stuff happens

Well, Brady came off the bench himself of course.. also Chicago got all the way to the big game with Rex Grossman. I feel bad for the guy & the whole franchise really, first the AFC title game to Indy in 06, then last season, and now this. I’m curious myself to see how Belichick does without Brady.

Seriously – I guess it all depends on how the original QB plays when/if he can play again & how the backup did (and who knows how many backups will play this season). It really bums me out seeing some of the great stars who end up as backups for a few years or just playing mediocre football until retirement. I guess Brett Favre is incredibly lucky in that respect.

Freeda Cathcart, the former president of the National Organization for Women Roanoke Chapter, wrote a delusional and incoherent op-ed which begins “Barack Obama proved his ability to lead a divided nation by uniting a divided Democratic Party.”http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/176134

Al Giordano (”The Field”) reminds me of our Communist Cadre growing up – I am not kidding you. They literally told us what to think or do and never deviate from the way the Central Committee has planned for us. I would be scared of anyone with this type of thinking being part of the future power structure in the US. I don’t want to go back to the days where FEAR ruled our lives to a point you will never say anything or have any opinion that is different.

By the way the Obots I think have been encouraged not to watch anymore news/opinion (all the same to them) shows – my wife did not want to watch any shows today except the O interview and Rachel Madow (premiere show). I gave in on the O interview but said no way on the other – could not handle two hours of blabbering. On another note I was at a friends baby christening yesterday and everyone was talking about how silly Palin’s choice was. Since everyone except my wife knows I am against O one of the guests asked me my opinion and I killed the whole conversation by saying “I am glad she has put the fear of god into O’s campaign” – loved the silence! :)

Did these morons that selected backtrack ever sit him down and explain the facts of life to him.
Backtrack you need them , they don’t need you.
Isn’t that what handlers are supposed to do.
I don’t think there is anyone left that he did not insult.
No wonder dems don’t get anything done.
They don’t have a clue.
Not that I want him any where near the white house.

Also if it is not the Phila Eagles it does not count in football ///////

1. To little experience to be on the top of the ticket.
2. To few previous accomplishments. What has he actually done besides write two books?
3. Doesn’t seem to have a backbone. Changes positions on a regular basis (FISA, campaign finance, drilling, etc.)
4. I feel like he’s spent his whole life running for offices and very little time actually doing things once he gets the positions he’s running for.
5. I like straight answers I can easily understand.

I’ve got more. These are just the reasons that come to me off the top of my head. The things I find wrong with Obama can’t be fixed in six months and, even though Biden is just a heartbeat away from the Presidency, Obama would be there from Day One.

The Dems should have picked Hillary. It’s not my fault they chose the second best candidate.

As our Clinton-Obama ’08 ticket is riding a 15-point advantage over poor old McCain, I thought I’d share this crazy dream I had last night.

I dreamt Obama stole the nomination by stacking the caucuses, and then DID NOT offer the VP to Hillary, but to some old guy. Ridiculous, I know! Then, in my dream, McCain brought out some fascistic Wonder Woman Barbie Doll terminatress as his VP, some Allesandro Mussolini type who gave such rivetting demagoguery speeches that the whole country swung behind McCain, and the Democrats got totally trounced!

I know, that’s a crazy dream, but what an image it poised. Anyway, we don’t need to worry, the Rethuglicans don’t have any dolly bird like that, I checked all 48 states.

Umm, yeah. She’ll have to defend it. And since she seems like a straight talker, the defense is really simple.

She held those “extreme views” as a lawmaker in Alaska because she was representing the people of Alaska and what they want. She can change them now, if she is working for the whole USA — or she can keep them if that is what she really thinks.

Good politicians represent their constituents views on things. (If every Democratic superdelegate with an elected office had actually voted for the people their constituents voted for, I think Hillary would have been our nominee. That’s just something to keep in mind.)

On top of all that, women reserve the right to change their mind whenever they want to for any or no reason at all. ;-)

I don’t believe in global warming caused by green house gases. I think it is a scam like most scientists do. Back in the good ol’ 70’s they thought polution from carbon gases was causing GLOBAL COOLING. Look it up in wikepedia. I think global warming is caused by the sun. I believe in cleaning up the enviroment because it is the right thing to do and it is more healthy for us.

oh boy-the obama spheere is in total melt down-I can go out with my Obamabot buddies tonight and eat my steak in peace.

what everyone forgot is 36 million democrats voted in the primary-caucus selection process this represents less than 1/2 of the democrats and I bet the ones that did not vote in the primaries will not vote for Bullwinkle in the general election.

It isnt just going to be the PUMA’s that are going to be a November Suprize it is going to be these voters that deliver the knock out punch.

Unlike us Primary Puma’s I do not believe these Democrats are as tourtured as we/I are/am about Voting Republican.

Great post! My only quibble is please don’t bash Biden too much. He’s not the right choice for VP, and obviously he doesn’t hold a candle to Hillary. And he’s not a progressive.

But at least I know he’s a Democrat and a liberal, I know his record, he’s been there forever, he hasn’t enriched himself at taxpayer expense, and he’s never gotten a crook to help him buy a mansion. It’s Obama that really poisons the ticket.

I saw some poll, maybe CBS that said Obama had begun to win over some Hillary supporters, that now only 20% said they would not vote for him, down from 29%. Even if I believe that number, that still means 3,600,000 voters. And since her support was very large in the big electoral states, guess where the voters are? The stupidity of the DNC never fails to amaze me. I actually don’t believe race is the factor will cause Obama to lose. I think it is all those things people say they don’t like, like his inexperience, his inexperience, his inexperience…and that arrogant, misogynistic thing he has going on.

votermom, Biden has things that I don’t like about him (the credit card connections, his treament of Anita Hill), but he has been a solid Dem team player for years. He was brave enough to point out Obama’s complete lack of experience in the debates. He did not trash Hill during the primaries, or help Bambi do so.

Joe would never be my pick for prez, and was a politically stupid pick for Bambi’s VP, but If Biden had won the primary, I wold have had no problem voting for him and fully getting behind him.

Obama’s troubles are because he is so egocentric that he actually doesn’t realize that when he gives a statement like the one he made last night about our Fannie-Freddie bail out with taxpayer money and says both political parties are responsible; he says “they” even though he is PART of that “They” and has been since 2006. A real leader would have recognized his part in that failure to prevent what happened.

He can’t claim immunity for remaining silent just because he was out “electioneering”; his job was to represent his constitutes who elected him in Illinois; not neglect it while he interviewed for a promotion.

And this is going to be one of the biggest money issues the next president deals with and if you don’t think so, research Reagan’s S&L scandal that took up a great deal of Clinton’s presidency before it was finally resolved at a cost of 1.4 trillion tax dollars.

The tax burden coming our way is going to result in more hard times that neither Obama or McCain can prevent but I’d prefer someone with experience balancing a budget, not someone who “borrows” from criminals like Rezko to finance a lifestyle he can’t afford because that’s how we got in this Fannie-Freddie mess to begin with. And in spite of all his criticism of Palin she doesn’t own a multi-million dollar mansion and has had to balance a deficit budget for Alaska.

Just another reason why it is so important to choose carefully on substance not vainglory.

I’m dense: Does this mean that we’re pretty certain to have a strong Dem majority in Congress? Because that’s extremely important, especially to counter McCain’s more nutty rightwing moves (e.g. “fixing” Social Security; of course Obama wants to do that too!).

Also, I’ve decided to write my personal account of PUMA thus far… which I’ll take to my old stomping grounds at (prepare yourself) The Huffington Post… to see what kind of trouble I can stir up there. Stay tuned, as I’m sure I’ll need your support in battling the Obamans!

I just flipped on CNN, and they are trying to figure out this Palin
thing. They may want to add some more women to the discussion.

I just wanted to make sure this got pointed out as a prime example of how having ANY WOMAN IN POWER HELPS ALL WOMEN. We’ll see a lot more female faces on the serious anchor shows instead of Kitty-Amber Hairspray fawning over some paunchy middle-aged guy who could be her father.

You can see it coming. Obama loses in November and the cries of “sabotage” by PUMAS ring out immediately.

If they had half a brain they’d understand that they are the ones who sabotaged their own campaign.

I have a question for all of you. We keep hearing about how much money Barack Obama has and what a massive advertising campaign he’s running. I live in a swing state (Iowa) and we have seen five times as many McCain ads as Obama ads. Where is all that advertising money going? Are those of you in swing states seeing those Obama ads?

“The other, also to McCain’s advantage, is in the battleground Midwest, where he’s moved from a 19-point deficit to a 7-point edge.”

At the risk of repeating myself, I will. If voters in Iowa had known about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright before the caucuses we would not be in this mess. Obama would have lost far more voters than he could have bussed in from Illinois.

Let’s face the facts, Americans want extraordinary people leading this nation:

McCain graduated bottom of his class from West Point, and Sarah Palin transferred between 6 universities just to get her bachelor’s. I am astounded by the sheer ignorance Republicans and Right wing radio nuts have towards the credibility of John McCain and his dog, pony show.

As for Palin pandering the Hillary vote, these two women are like night and day. My faith in the American public will diminish if McCain/Palin end up winning this election soley based on the personality card…

McCain’s GRADES?! He’s 70 fucking years old! You may be forgiven for not having realized this yet since I highly doubt that your testicles have dropped at this point, but there comes a time in a person’s life when your grades don’t matter. After you’ve been out of college for FIFTY YEARS, it’s your actual accomplishments that matter more.

This is a tough adjustment for a lot of people to make — that there will come a time in your life when no one will give a shit what your SAT scores were. If you aren’t lucky and peaked a little early in life, that will be “no one but you.” I advise you to start looking ahead to getting shti done instead of crowing about your grades, because your bosses won’t be putting letters of any kind on top of your work once you get out of school.

In fact it is of extreme importance for the Native Americans in Alaska. I watched that same debate on CSpan and the question was posed by a Native American.

Palin kept reiterating that those dependent on subsistance hunting had first rights that were already covered in the current constitution.

I did not miss it when she said that a new constitutional amendement focused on these right would be divisive for Alanskans. Perhaps her popularity has that as a foundation, trying to solve problems without dividing the people.

wolfson write’s a reasoned argument that the campaign is about McCain not Palin (!) so it’s not in anyone’s interest, let alone hillary’s to go “after” Palin. . . and many just can.not stop the CDS.. even as they “discuss” how Hillary should do this or that for O’man.. irony is a metal object…

I read that diary you cited (Al Giordano) and my jaw dropped. What a nasty, belligerent bully. So anyone who recognizes the painful truth and dares to express it on kos will incur the wrath of this nutcase? Sounds like a great place to hang out! I’ve predicted all along that some of Obama’s supporters seeemed unstable and would probably go off the deep end when his campaign tanked. It’s starting.

“No one ever suggests that Obama should reach out to voters positively and tell them why he wants their votes or what he will do for them.”

Exactly right- You can’t win an election running on why the other person should not get votes…there has to be a reason to vote FOR you.

S:

“If McCain wins the GE, I think he will offer a cabinet position to Hillary.”

Was thinking the same thing today. McCain and Hillary appear to like and respect one another, and it would not be too hard to see her in the cabinet- especially given McCain’s maverick nature. Also, this prospect might help keep Hillary from working to hard for the empty suit.

never will understand the point of this post. basically you say that obama picked a bad vp and mccain picked a good one, so mccain should win. never talked about his views and why u support them. real question is why do u like mccain and why dont u like obama

The truth is simple. Michelle O (not be be confused with Jackie O) hates HRC. You could see it in her face when HRC was talking at the convention. There is no way that she would let Obama pick her. Her anger and hatred of HRC is behind the reason why the DNC will not win the presidency. Although , the weak Obama is equal in blame because he could not override her. They can spend the rest of their days lamenting this fact.

PALIN WITH HER CRUCIFIX AND GUN GOT STEINEM IN THE CLOSET WITH HER BLOODY HAMMER
Christian women morally corrupted by Steinem are redeemed by Palin. This ongoing struggle in the Holy Cultural War, Christians against Neo-Marxists, exemplifies the eternal struggle between good and evil. Because the sacrilegious sacrificial killing of over 40 million children by their Christian mothers was politically instigated by Steinem, she is now condemned to burn at the stake.

Jeugenen slyly wrote:
****
PALIN WITH HER CRUCIFIX AND GUN GOT STEINEM IN THE CLOSET WITH HER BLOODY HAMMER
Christian women morally corrupted by Steinem are redeemed by Palin. This ongoing struggle in the Holy Cultural War, Christians against Neo-Marxists, exemplifies the eternal struggle between good and evil. Because the sacrilegious sacrificial killing of over 40 million children by their Christian mothers was politically instigated by Steinem, she is now condemned to burn at the stake.
****
Why hello, Jeugenen. You sound quite a bit DIFFERENT from the other commenters. And need I say, expressing, very POORLY and in a manner designed to establish DIVISION, a very EXTREME viewpoint.

[…] Michael Kinsley of Time Magazine has written quite the angry tirade about Sarah Palin. Apparently Bostonboomer’s report on the meltdown of PB 1.0 is spilling over to the mainstream media. They are in full panic mode and […]

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By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Readers, I’m sorry I missed Water Cooler Monday. Perhaps it would be simplest to say I was trapped in a chrono-synclastic infundibulum. TPP Lori Wallach on the leaked investment chapter [Eyes on Trade (PDF)]. The tribunals would be empowered to order payment of unlimited government funds to foreign investors over […] […]

Body: This paper, or pre-draft, or sketch, or whatever it is, started out with this title: "With The 12-Point Platform, this won't happen: An aristocracy of credentialism in the 20%." But then I realized I'd gotten in deeper than I thought -- one of those posts were the framework and the notes overwhelm the original idea -- and as it tur […]